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Author Topic: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice  (Read 13977 times)  Share 

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brenden

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I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« on: November 12, 2018, 08:56:41 pm »
+27
Hey everyone.

Next year, I'll be a teacher!

I'm going to be teaching Year 11 English, Year 11 VCAL literacy, and another class between Year 7-10, and I want to do a really good job.

It's been about six years - nearly to the day - since I finished school, and I'm over a decade past that young teenager Year 7-8 years, so my memory is starting to get hazy about what I really appreciated and what the classic "ugh" teacher things were.

Tell me, what's your advice? What should a teacher always do? Never do?

Tell me about the moments that really stick out to you - good and bad. I'd love to hear them, hopefully you can benefit my future students!
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Aaron

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2018, 09:03:52 pm »
+14
Good luck mate. It's a rough business especially for grads who are out of their depth, but over time you'll learn to adapt, think on your feet.

Don't be isolated - ask for help. They're aware you're new. Hit me up if you ever want some advice... think my jumparound in schools to date qualifies me to be a good giver of advice.

What's worked for me over the past 18 months has been the fact that i've been myself - I admit that I sometimes blur the line between teacher/friend but I don't try and speak down to students.... respect and rapport is the number one pre-requisite. If you don't have that, you'll have a hard time teaching.

Listen to your students. Ask them how they'd like to learn. Do they want powerpoints summarising key topics? How about videos? Groupwork? etc.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 09:20:33 pm by Aaron »
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Lear

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2018, 09:08:04 pm »
+18
The best teachers I’ve had were stern and powerful when necessary while approachable and caring at other times. Make sure you establish your self from very start as someone that is not a pushover, but also someone that isn’t unreasonably stringent or condescending at other times. I’ve noticed this skill to be more prominent with older (and likely more experienced teachers). Often younger teachers tend to try and be overly nice and door-mattish which leads to a lack of respect for authority within the class. A balance is really key.


This is just my view :)
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Calebark

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2018, 09:10:30 pm »
+10
Oooh most exciting! The biggest plus for any sort of class are teachers that examine 'how/why' rather than 'what'. Reading from a textbook or PowerPoint for ages at a time is pretty disengaging. Getting the bare minimum from a source and then getting the rest from a class source not only keeps you awake (and more interested), but you feel like you're actually participating in learning rather than memorising, and it's a big tick in a student mindset

A student's comfort is a really big factor in how engaging they'll be in a class. The best teacher I've ever had, my old Physics teacher, set high standards for us as students. This didn't translate to high levels of discipline. He was pretty casual, and always had a sense of humour about, which I think is especially important as a young teacher to avoid an 'us vs them' attitude. Definitely enthusiastic and never once did that subtle-teacher-sigh some do when students asked basic questions. Everyone was comfortable, so the entire class would contribute to discussion -- not just a select few. And since nobody wanred to disappoint him, nobody played up in class.

I hope that made sense lel, tell me if I should reword it. Regardless, all the luck!
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Aaron

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2018, 09:11:14 pm »
+15
That was probably one of the mistakes I first made when I came out of my teaching degree into a full time position. I had a Year 10 math group that were very tough to deal with... fairly sure that made me change my overall attitude towards things haha. If anything, those tough(er) classes are the ones where you develop the most because you are forced into a position where niceness leads to poor outcomes. I was lucky I quickly fixed it up with the help of a fantastic mentor. Mentoring is so important especially in the first year.

Naturally as a younger teacher, the kids are going to relate to you more. For example, the kids at my last school found out very quickly I was a fan of Fallout and kept asking if i'd add them and play.. asked me about my PC specs etc....... it helps build rapport but establishing the line is very important. You are the adult, you are the role model. They don't know any better, you do.

In all honesty, I think my first school turned me into innocent quiet me to coordinator material me. Schools that are "rough" (and I put quotation marks around it because interpretation is varied) are often the ones you get so much out of (if you teach middle years, even better for development). I have found that experienced teachers get quite comfortable in their VCE routine... can't tell you how many times I saw experienced teachers unwilling to try new teaching strategies/even teach middle years.

Like Lear has said, as a young teacher it often is quite difficult to be taken seriously and I often have to reiterate the fact that i'm the kids' teacher, not their friend. That's not to say you can't support them emotionally etc (as all teachers should), but there is a clear distinction that has to be enforced. In essence, you are there to do the job you are paid to do, and leave. For me personally, I have felt that as a very young teacher (I started teaching at 22, I was the youngest teacher in my entire school) I often haven't been taken seriously by both students and colleagues... it doesn't feel great and really the best way to counteract that is to show your professionalism - contribute to things, help others etc. Can't remember the amount of times i've floated the idea of a leadership position.. and as a 23 year old, the looks I get like "as if". So be prepared for some judgement, but that'll pass with time.

First semester is going to be rough in terms of lesson planning etc - but I assure you that it gets easier over time. Think I was up every night till about midnight doing detailed notes in my first term (then realising that they were a waste of time because you understand teaching is so dynamic that a script will never work - adaptability is key).
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 09:26:55 pm by Aaron »
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Bri MT

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2018, 09:24:47 pm »
+9
From my experiences:

Bad:
- condescension
- working straight from the textbook

Good:
- encouraging alternative interpretations
- being able to control the class
- having consistent enforcement of rules
- explaining things in different ways

--
Congratulations and good luck! 

brenden

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #6 on: November 12, 2018, 09:25:57 pm »
+6
Reading every response, really loving it. Keep them coming, I don't want to reply too much, I just want to see people's first thoughts.
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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2018, 09:27:32 pm »
+12
Sort of related to what other people have said above:
-Follow through. If you threaten to give someone detention and then they do what you told them not to do, then you have to actually follow through. Don’t threaten people with anything you’re not prepared to actually do.

-Don’t do the whole ‘because I said so’ thing. Especially with the year 11’s.

-Don’t decide how you’re going to treat them before you walk in there. It’s not going to be exactly like you expect and if you try and pretend it is, it’s not going to work.

-Re: being a young teacher and getting people to listen, a lot of the reason I didn’t listen to them was because it’s really obvious when the teacher is just doing what they think they’re supposed to be doing rather than doing something that will actually be beneficial (see above: ‘because I said so’, also be confident in what you’re saying)

Oh, also something my teachers do when people aren’t paying attention that seems to work:
-If someones not paying attention then you say their name, but don’t ask them a question, just like ‘isn’t that right [name]’. It gets people’s attention without actually singling them out and humiliating them like asking an actual question would.
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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #8 on: November 12, 2018, 09:30:35 pm »
+5
Join the union (AEU) and add your support to better and fairer working conditions. This benefits you, your colleagues, your ability to do your job the way you would like, and ultimately your students.

https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/

vox nihili

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #9 on: November 12, 2018, 09:35:12 pm »
+12
You're getting heaps of great advice here from much better placed people to give the advice, but I can't resist saying that the thing I've found most useful in my classes is setting a really clear picture of what I want the class to look like at the start of the year.

Rather than a prescriptive list of rules, I explain what I want the students to get out of the class and how we can work together to make that. It always gives me something to point to if things are going off track and helps me ground any rules. I also find that it keeps me honest too, meaning that I'll work towards that goal.

So for example, at VCESS we only have a couple of weeks of classes, so I always talk about wanting the students to leave knowing how they're going to study biology, having some skills to tackle the year and feeling more confident about bio. Then whenever I introduce what we're going to do in the class, I point to what the purpose of that activity is in the context of those goals. It also means that if we stray off course or anyone is being a pain, there's an implicit understanding in the class that that's not on.
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Aaron

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #10 on: November 12, 2018, 09:43:33 pm »
+14
SERIOUSLY IMPORTANT - often not covered in induction programs etc:

and jesus christ, this is probably the biggest one of them all:

be very careful with your actions - rule of thumb really is to not touch a student at all. Especially as a young male teacher, you are automatically vulnerable to somebody getting the wrong idea and potentially having your reputation tarnished for no reason. This post sounds like i'm being picky and critical re: sexist attitudes, but they exist and don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Comforting students (e.g. hug etc) - do it in public where others can see if there is a legitimate need to do this action.

Avoid visibly showing bias in the classroom - by default we have the one or two students who we like more than the rest (favourites) - there's no denying it happens and it's really human nature, but please try not to let it show in the classroom. One of the key principles is equality to all our students. This must be maintained. It's very easy to slip up and show bias - I still do it at times... kids are very observant. After like 2 weeks at my last school I still didn't know some of their names and I got asked by a year 7 why I never used their names.. LOL. Safe to say after that I spent ages learning names and rectified it pretty quickly.

Every time a student misbehaves - instead of directly going to the punishment, have a think about why this misbehaviour is occurring. Mental health concerns are at their prime in the teenage years... can't begin to count how many wellbeing issues i've seen over 18 months. Even a student getting an idea in their head that you hate them can often lead to unintended consequences.

I remember at one of my schools I had a student who thought I hated them - this led to lack of motivation in class, leaving class unnecessarily etc... I only found out this was the issue through the coordinator/wellbeing team who told me what was going on. Student didn't communicate it with me at all.. again, unintentional but .. teens. There are often back stories that explain misbehaviour - it's very very very rarely intentional. E.g. may have ADHD that you aren't aware of etc.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 09:57:10 pm by Aaron »
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vceme

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2018, 10:07:45 pm »
+5
I've had a mix of both young and older teachers.
-One of my teachers would host after-school help for that particular subject every week and the class would recognise and appreciate it. Hence, I think that's why we would all *somewhat* try because we didn't want to disappoint him. So show your students that you care about their learning!
-A huge BIG no!!! to roasting your students because like ^ said, it would make others and myself feel like we couldn't ask for help.
-Asking the class what works for them.
-Being able to understand that it's a really stressful time
-Switching up the activities (a little kahootz always gets the class going  ;)) so it doesn't become mundane
-Be cautious of calling out students to discuss their opinions because some get anxiety over this but I think you would be able to get a general idea of who does or doesn't. Had a sub teacher who thought it was beneficial to pick names but class just hated it.
I think the most important thing that everyone has said is just not being a push-over
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Aaron

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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2018, 10:12:27 pm »
+8
Quote from: vceme
-Be cautious of calling out students to discuss their opinions because some get anxiety over this but I think you would be able to get a general idea of who does or doesn't. Had a sub teacher who thought it was beneficial to pick names but class just hated it.
Hmmm. I initially had this view too when I started teaching and was 100% against the idea, but over time I have realised sometimes it is necessary to do this to ensure kids are paying attention. I don't think anybody likes having to speak infront of the class but again it's about the teacher building that rapport and warm environment, where all opinions are respected. Obviously if the same people are being picked on for no good reason, then that's a completely different issue that needs to be addressed. But in a general sense that is the teacher's responsibility - to build that environment where it's OK to take risks and get answers wrong.. because that's how we learn.

I say in my classes straight away and i'm quite frank about it - any bullying, laughter at other answers etc. results in immediate removal from the class. I've experienced it and it's terrible. Having been on the receiving end of bullying and laughter multiple times during my schooling, I absolutely get the fear of sharing answers.. I do, but if you aren't faced with this, you'll never get over it. The confidence has to be built somehow to be a productive member of society - if you sit quietly and don't contribute at all, imagine how that will go in a workplace.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 10:15:18 pm by Aaron »
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Re: I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #13 on: November 12, 2018, 10:15:40 pm »
+11
Also, believe in them. There's a few kids at my school who basically gave up on trying in class because the teachers just didn't expect them to be able to do anything. And they couldn't even start afresh in a new class because the teachers would talk to each other and already have preconceived notions of the kid. (there was also a lot of other issues with this class, which is why I know that one of the kids basically felt like there was no point in trying because no one cared/would want him to succeed anyway, and that all the teachers were just singling him out to pick on - which this teacher was, but that's another story haha).

So yeah, just keep giving them chances. Don't think that they're never going to change/never going to care about education, etc.
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I'll be a teacher next year and I need your advice
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2018, 10:22:56 pm »
+10
Some more things that come to my mind
- Extend your high achieving students by giving them tougher work to ensure they don't bored and complacent in class
- Likewise, reach out to students who may be anxious to ask for help by noting people who are quiet in class
- Have rigid yet reasonable guidelines on technology usage. For example, instead of outright banning earphone usage in class, offer compromise by outlining that they must be out when you are speaking but may be allowed when it's individual work time
- Make any 'threats' (for lack of better word) meaningful. Talking about dishing out detentions all the time dilutes the psychological impact associated with it. Follow through when you make them.
- Understand that different students learn and handle their education in different ways. This can be considered controversial, but personally I think a teacher should allow a student that wants to take responsibility for their own learning (and has shown the capacity and willingness to do so) freedom to use their class time how they wish to. Personally, this year I have been a very self directed person. I stayed weeks ahead of class and self taught myself for most of my subjects. Therefore it was extremely more beneficial for me to do whatever I wanted to do in class (same subject based, of course) rather follow the teacher's powerpoints or teachings. Most of my teachers were fine with this as I did fine in SACs but I have had teachers that outright ban such behaviour.
- Visual learning is always excellent and often more beneficial than lectures.


Having read some of the phenomenal advice posted here, i’m certain you’re going to make a great teacher if you take these on board, Brenden :D
« Last Edit: November 12, 2018, 10:28:08 pm by Lear »
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